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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Pakistan
Index
Bhutto lifted martial law within several months, and
after an
"interim constitution" granting him broad powers as
president, a
new constitution was promulgated in April 1973 and came
into
effect on August 14 of that year, the twenty-sixth
anniversary of
the country's independence. This constitution represented
a
consensus on three issues: the role of Islam; the sharing
of
power between the federal government and the provinces;
and the
division of responsibility between the president and the
prime
minister, with a greatly strengthened position for the
latter.
Bhutto stepped down as president and became prime
minister. In
order to allay fears of the smaller provinces concerning
domination by Punjab, the constitution established a
bicameral
legislature with a Senate, providing equal provincial
representation, and a National Assembly, allocating seats
according to population. Islam was declared the state
religion of
Pakistan.
Bhutto had the opportunity to resolve many of
Pakistan's
political problems. But although the country finally
seemed to be
on a democratic course, Bhutto lost this opportunity
because of
series of repressive actions against the political
opposition
that made it appear he was working to establish a
one-party
state. In a final step, he suddenly called national
elections in
March 1977, hoping to catch the opposition unprepared and
give
his party total control of the National Assembly. When
Bhutto's
party overwhelmingly won the election, the opposition
charged
voting irregularities and launched mass disturbances
requiring
action by the army to restore law and order. Bhutto was
ousted by
the military, which again took control. This action
resulted not
solely from sheer political ambition but from the
military's
belief that the law and order situation had dangerously
deteriorated.
Data as of April 1994
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